Was wondering what had happened to YK-ATA (which was rumoured to have crashed whilst carrying Assad, before he was revealed to be in Russia). Well, it seems that the plane ended up at Russia's Khmeimim Air Base in Syria. Assad has since confirmed that he left the country via this base.
Follow-up: a Syrian Il-76T at Khmeimim in a recent drone video.
Moderate-high confidence it is YK-ATA. There hasn't been any observed flight data from another Syrian Il-76 since the flight that started this thread. Sentinel-2 (12/10) & LandSat 8/9 (12/9) show an Il-76-sized plane in same spot.
Dec 29, 2024 13:02The apparent rapid loss of altitude and sharp turns near Homs may have been an illusion caused by GPS jamming.
